Yale School of Architecture Exhibits

School's back in session and university galleries are filling up again with works worth studying. This fall, the Yale School of Architecture is outfitting the campus's Paul Rudolph Hall with two exhibitions: one focusing on sustainable design, the other looking back at the learnings of its legendary lecturers Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Photograph of Glidehouse�, anywhere, 2004

Michelle Kaufmann Designs

Photo by JMC Photography, courtesy National Building Museum

The basic Glidehouse� module is an attractively spare single-story residence with sliding glass doors along one length of the fa�ade. This modernist prefab home can be customized to reflect the needs of the client and features a number of green design elements.

The Guild House by Venturi Scott Brown & Associates, part of the "What We Learned" exhibit (Photo courtesy of the Yale School of Architecture)

The Bard College Stevenson Library by Venturi Scott Brown & Associates, part of the "What We Learned" exhibit (Photo courtesy of the Yale School of Architecture)

From the city that's home to the White House comes "The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture." The exhibition, which originated at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, focuses on materials and technologies used in sustainable building and features over 20 home by architects around the world, including Werner Sobek from Gremany, 1+2 Architecture from Australia, and Michelle Kaufmann from the United States.

Curated by Donald Albrecht, a licensed architect whose CV includes work in the offices of both Philip Johnson and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the exhibit is organized around five principles of green design: using land efficiently and economically, exploiting the sun, conserving energy, keeping the indoors healthy, and respecting the Earth's limited resources.

"The Green House" will vacate its New Haven, Connecticut, home on October 26 and be replaced by a pair of exhibits titled "What We Learned: The Yale Las Vegas Studio and the Work of Venturi Scott Brown & Associates." The first exhibit, "The Yale Las Vegas Studio," will present an in-depth look at the famous field trip to Las Vegas led by Venturi and Scott Brown in the late 1960s, which ultimately led to the creation of their highly influential book Learning from Las Vegas. On display will be over 100 photos, slides and documents from the famed trip. The second exhibit, "What We Learned," curated by Dean Sakamoto, celebrates the work of Venturi Scott Brown & Associates in the form of drawings, posters, photographs, text, furniture, and fragments from some of the buildings.

"The Green House" is on exhibit now until October 26. "What We Learned: The Yale Las Vegas Studio and the Work of Venturi Scott Brown & Associates" opens October 29 and runs through February 5, 2010. Both exhibits are free and open to the public. For more information, visit calendar.yale.edu.

Walla Womba Guest House, Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia, 2003

1+2 Architecture

Photo by Peter Hyatt, courtesy National Building Museum

The Walla Womba Guest House utilizes a raised steel frame to sit lightly on its thickly wooded site, and lifts the house to help keep natural drainage patterns intact.